There seems to be opposition and resistance to everything worth pursuing in this life. Getting a job in the oilfield is no different. It takes careful planning and time to successfully land a job hauling water. Nobody comes to the oilfield thinking they're going to fail, but many end up failing. Why is this? I've give it some thought and think I might have a few ideas gleaned from my own firsthand experience.
When pursuing a course toward a new career choice, you've probably heard the phrase, "don't quit your day job". There have been times in my life when I didn't give heed to this wisdom and have financially fallen flat on my face while trying to move from one job to another. Keep your day job until you have prepared to make the transition. It takes money to make money and a plan to make it happen.
I have a hard time being patient staying at a job when I know could be doing the same job somewhere else making better pay. When I first considered a water hauling job in the Bakken it was hard for me to be patient with my $17 per hour job, especially when I knew I could double that income in North Dakota.
Here are a few things I did to maintain a fluid transition from local delivery truck driver to oilfield water hauler. I didn't quit my day job without first putting enough money in the bank to cover the costs that I would incur during the transitioning process. These costs included my monthly bills and the expenses I would have during my job hunt.
I didn't quit my job cold-turkey. I put in my two weeks notice and made sure that the job would be open to me if things didn't work out in the oil patch. If I fell on my face, I would be able to come back to my old job and avoid falling behind on my bills and family expenses. Never burn a bridge with a past employer, because you never know when you might need to work for them again. Most everything I had to my name was paid for. I didn't have a lot of debt.
If you have a ton of debt and the monthly payments are devouring you, please consider eliminating as much of that debt as you can before heading to North Dakota. You'll have much less stress. I know that many of us were doing fine before the economy took a turn for the worse, but if your income can no longer cover your monthly expenses, it's time to take drastic measures to reduce those expenses. If you're upside down on anything that you can live without please consider letting it go.
I hate the suffocating feeling of too much debt. I've been there before and it's not a place where I ever want to be again. Life is so much sweeter when there is money left over after all of the bills are paid. When there is more money coming into the bank each month than the money going out, it's called, "living within your means". Living within your means allows you to have extra money to do the things in life that you would otherwise be unable to do.
Every situation is different and so I don't mean to be insensitive to your predicament, but I know how debt feels and I know how being debt-free feels. The burden of too much debt is suffocating: emotionally, socially, mentally and even physically.
When I went to North Dakota, I wasn't in the best financial position I could have been and may have jumped the gun a little bit, but you can't completely eliminate the risk and gamble that comes with a job change. The job I had lined up didn't work out when I first got to North Dakota and I ended up doing something totally different for a time to make money, but I stuck with it and the rest is history.
I don't want to give you bad advice, but I've learned that sometimes it's okay to not pay your bills, at least, for a little while. Do this, only, if the money from one or two months of unpaid bills will be enough to get you into a higher-paying oilfield job. All expenses have to be accounted for. You'll need transportation, you'll need food, you'll need gas money. If you can take an SUV or a pickup with a camper shell on it you'll be okay for lodging.
After a couple months of work, the money from your new oilfield job will start rolling in and then you can catch up on the bills you put off. Consider buying my ebook, "The Best Job in North Dakota" so that you can be educated on what the best water hauling employment situation is. Eliminate as much chance and luck as possible when it comes to finding good employment. My book will help you gain the mindset of a water hauler. You need to gain this mindset so that you can get yourself hired by a company that will pay you good, keep you busy and be flexible with your home life. This step will be the most important step you will take, because your employer will determine if you have financial success or not.
Cody, I am about to take a job with MBI Energy out in the Dickinson Area. I have a good job here in Minneapolis and I was wondering is the risk worth it? And do you know anything (good or bad) about MBI or Nuverra power fuels. I was offered a water position there also. MBI is hourly (23.00) and Nuverra is by the load (18%). I have been looking all over the web trying to get good Honest information and it has been very difficult so far. Any information or guidence would be greatly appreciated
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Joe
Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteMBI and Power Fuels are the corporate giants of the water hauling world in the Bakken. I think your experience with either of these companies will be a good one if you maintain a positive attitude and look to them as a stepping stone rather than a destination. Nobody can afford to live on those kinds of wages, but you can use them as your oilfield experience getting universities and then after a year or two working for them, step up to a higher paying job with a more time on/time off flexibile company with less company policy regulations. MBI and Power Fuels offer job security and I think that is important for those who need to play it safe when it comes to job transitions, but never stop looking for a better opportunity once you've been out here long enough to learn the water hauling ropes.
Best of Luck!
Cody Sorensen
I worked for Levi Berger, aka Miller Logistics, aka Dakota 5 Oil Field Services from July 1st thru July 12th. I was told I would earn anywhere from 3000 to 4000 dollars a week. I was told the trucks had nice condo sleepers and I would be able to stay in the truck. In fact, the truck I was assigned did not have A/C, and the job included working on the truck on my own time I learned after I got there. There would be no extra pay for greasing the truck and trailer, or doing minor repairs.
ReplyDeleteWhile greasing the truck and trailer, I found the brakes on both the truck and trailer would not pass DOT regulations. I also found a tire on the left rear inside of the trailer that was ready to blow out. I had another employee, Lance, try to give me a jump start. It would not even turn over. Lance said he would be back that evening and we could leave the jumpers on all night and try again in the morning. I called the owner of the truck, Bryan Berger and told him about the batteries being no good and the bad tire and the bad brakes, some of which the brake pads were actually broken in half, and others that were down to the rivets. He refused to send a mechanic to fix the brakes, and replace the tire that had metal showing through saying he would send a set of batteries up and I could drive it back to the shop in Bismarck so he could check the brakes and replace the tire and fix the A/C. The next morning after being hooked to the jumper cables all night long the truck still would not turn over. I talked with Lance, the other driver for Dakota 5 Oil Field Services and he said he used to be a mechanic for 3 years and there is no way those brakes were new just 4 days ago. He crawled under the truck and verified that some pads were down to the rivets and some were actually broken in half, he also verified the tire was ready to blow. Lance suggested I call the DOT and have them inspect the truck and shut it down before trying to drive it 200 miles to Bismarck. I called the North Dakota State Police and told them what I found and they said to note those problems on my Driver Vehicle Inspection report and then call the owner and tell him it is shut down at that location until repairs have been made. I called Levi Berger of Dakota 5 Oil Field Services and told him and he said, ok, YOU QUIT THEN, and I will send another driver after it. I asked Levi Berger about my pay and he said, WHAT! DO YOU THINK I'M A BANK? YOU NEED TO TALK TO BRYAN ABOUT GETTING PAID. So I called Bryan Berger about my pay and he said he had nothing to do with payroll and I would have to call Kent his bookkeeper. SO I called Kent at the number Bryan gave me and he said he did not know who I was, never heard of me, don't have any paperwork on me, and does not even know if I work for Dakota 5 Oil Field Services. I was told I would earn 3000 to 4000 a week before I decided to quit my job here in Oregon and use my last paycheck to drive to North Dakota. I was give 2 cash advances while in North Dakota from Levi Berger, one for $300 and one for $600 in which I did not receive a pay stub showing any taxes taken out or my hourly rate of $15 an hour plus overtime or anything, no receipt whatsoever. I worked at the hourly rate from July 1st thru July 7th and then beginning July 8th I would begin getting paid .425 cents a barrel after I was assigned the truck D665 owned by Levi's brother Bryan Berger, who calls his business B-5 Trucking. Here are the hours I worked: July 1st - 12 hours, July 2nd - 12 1/2 hours,July 3rd - 12 hours, July 4th - 12 hours, July 5th - 6 1/4 hours, July 6th - 15 hours, July 7th - 11 hours TOTAL HOURS WORKED FOR DAKOTA 5 OIL FIELD SERVICES = 81 3/4 hours in 7 days and I was told by Levi Berger that I had worked NO OVERTIME HOURS!
I have filed a claim for unpaid wages with the State of North Dakota concerning the pay this company owes me. The truck had bad brakes which would not pass DOT Inspection and bad tires that were showing steel through the tread and wide cracks on the sidewalls from weather checking.
I bought your ebook Cody, lots of good information in there. It's worth twice what your selling it for in my opinion.
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